Maxim Birbraer (Hebrew: מקס בירבראייר; born December 15, 1980) is a Kazakhstan-born Israeli former professional ice hockey forward. Birbraer is Jewish and has played for the Israel national ice hockey team.
| Max Birbraer | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Birbraer wore #21 with the Israeli National Team | |||
| Born |
December 15, 1980 Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakh SSR, USSR | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
| Weight | 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb) | ||
| Position | Right Wing | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Albany River Rats | ||
| National team |
 Israel | ||
| NHL draft |
67th overall, 2000 New Jersey Devils | ||
| Playing career | 1999–2019 | ||
Playing career
editBirbraer was born in Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan, where he lived until the age of 14, and is Jewish.[1][2][3] His family lived under a non-Jewish sounding surname in those years due to severe local anti-Semitism, and he was not told that he was Jewish until his parents decided to move to Israel.[4][5][6] Although he had played schoolboy hockey in Russia, he assumed that he would have to give up the ice when he was 14 and his family immigrated to Israel, until he discovered an indoor rink in Tel Aviv where he played in a junior league. He had lived in Israel for only 8 months when his coach, Paul Rosen, persuaded him to try out for a Canadian league with the result that he spent 2 years playing Tier 2 hockey in Ontario, where Rosen was his legal guardian. He then joined the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League.[5][4]
He was the only Israeli national ever to be drafted by an NHL team when he was drafted 67th overall in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils.[5][3] Despite this, he never played in the NHL, instead spending three seasons with their American Hockey League affiliate, the Albany River Rats. In 2006, Birbraer signed with the Cardiff Devils of the Elite Ice Hockey League, and played with the team for 7 years.[7][8][9] Birbraer signed with the Telford Tigers in 2014.[8]
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1997–98 | Shelburne Wolves | MetJHL | 12 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Shelburne Wolves | OPJHL | 35 | 20 | 22 | 42 | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–2000 | Newmarket Hurricanes | OPJHL | 47 | 50 | 32 | 82 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 50 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 40 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 57 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | San Antonio Rampage | AHL | 17 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Laredo Bucks | CHL | 44 | 16 | 14 | 30 | 37 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 33 | ||
| 2004–05 | San Diego Gulls | ECHL | 69 | 19 | 30 | 49 | 63 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Long Beach Ice Dogs | ECHL | 13 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Cardiff Devils | EIHL | 52 | 29 | 33 | 62 | 105 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2007–08 | Cardiff Devils | EIHL | 54 | 20 | 37 | 57 | 75 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09 | Kazzinc–Torpedo | RUS.2 | 34 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Heilbronner Falken | DEU.2 | 16 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 2009–10 | Cardiff Devils | EIHL | 54 | 22 | 36 | 58 | 58 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | Cardiff Devils | EIHL | 54 | 26 | 42 | 68 | 44 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 2011–12 | Cardiff Devils | EIHL | 24 | 11 | 20 | 31 | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Cardiff Devils | EIHL | 31 | 16 | 13 | 29 | 18 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 8 | ||
| 2013–14 | Cardiff Devils | EIHL | 52 | 16 | 24 | 40 | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Telford Tigers | GBR.2 | 48 | 21 | 33 | 54 | 46 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | Telford Tigers | GBR.2 | 51 | 26 | 34 | 60 | 123 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2016–17 | Swindon Wildcats | GBR.2 | 50 | 16 | 31 | 47 | 126 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 2 | ||
| 2017–18 | Swindon Wildcats | GBR.2 | 31 | 15 | 38 | 53 | 44 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 2 | ||
| 2018–19 | Swindon Wildcats | GBR.2 | 41 | 12 | 55 | 67 | 67 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | Swindon Wildcats | GBR.2 | 22 | 12 | 41 | 53 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| AHL totals | 164 | 19 | 21 | 40 | 94 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| EIHL totals | 321 | 140 | 205 | 345 | 378 | 19 | 12 | 10 | 22 | 14 | ||||
International
edit| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Israel | EJC D | 5 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 4 | |
| 1997 | Israel | WC D | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 1998 | Israel | EJC D | 5 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 10 | |
| 1998 | Israel | WC D | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 27 | |
| 1999 | Israel | WC D | 4 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2000 | Israel | WC D | 4 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 6 | |
| 2008 | Israel | WC Div.2 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 4 | |
| 2013 | Israel | WC Div.2B | 5 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 6 | |
| Junior totals | 10 | 15 | 6 | 21 | 14 | |||
| Senior totals | 28 | 20 | 28 | 48 | 45 | |||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Professional Hockey Review: 2010–11; European Hockey League". Jewish Sports Review. 8 (87): 8–9. September–October 2011.
- ^ Kalchman, Lois (May 5, 2000). "Max Birbraer's strange journey ; Overlooked player now seen as top prospect for NHL". Toronto Star. ProQuest 438138965.
- ^ a b Fishler, Stan (April 2, 2002). "Max Birbraer: Rising Hockey Star, Aspiring Bar Mitzvah Boy". The Forward. ProQuest 367760578.
- ^ a b Maloney, Tom (June 21, 2000). "An unlikely rise to attention for Israeli talent: Max Birbraer's road to an NHL draft: bizarre, made-for-TV story". National Post (Canada). ProQuest 329757130.
- ^ a b c Shoalts, David (December 13, 2003). "Player refuses to yield to obstacles". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
- ^ "My incredible Journey: Cardiff Devils rising star Max Birbraer served time in jail and the Israeli Army before he was 20, but ice hockey got him through it all". South Wales Echo. October 13, 2010. ProQuest 757683768.
- ^ Phillips, Terry (August 25, 2007). "Imports set to provide Devils with a boost". South Wales Echo. ProQuest 342227002.
- ^ a b Oakes, Michael (August 12, 2014). "Max Birbraer eyes a Grand Slam with Telford". Daily Star (London). ProQuest 1552738794.
- ^ Phillips, Terry (December 3, 2009). "Birbraer's double as Devils take a thriller". South Wales Echo. ProQuest 342347356.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Max Birbraer's blog